


Somebody To Love

by shiretotowntonation



Series: Queen-inspired fics [7]
Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, British Actor RPF
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Drinking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiretotowntonation/pseuds/shiretotowntonation
Summary: During the New Year's Eve party of 2018, Joe gets drunk and emotional. Gwilym takes care of him and learns something that will define 2019 for both men. (Inspired by Gwilym's deleted insta story)





	Somebody To Love

After a rather busy and somewhat difficult year, Joe, Gwilym, Rami, Lucy and a few other friends agreed to spend New Year’s Eve together in New York City, and say goodbye to 2018 for good. The group rented a place in the city for the night and brought over the most important party accessories: confetti, a fine sound system, their good humour, food and, of course, tons of alcohol. The party had barely started, but the guests were already in good spirits, playing games - most of which required drinking -, joking around with each other, dancing and taking some festive selfies and funny videos which could be shared on social media later on.

Joe was particularly indulgent with the beverages, as he was getting tipsy way too soon. It was rather unusual behaviour from him, and while he wasn’t planning to stay too sober either, Gwilym was determined to keep an eye on the redhead through the night as he was beginning to worry about his friend.

“So, what are your resolutions for 2019, Gwil?” - Joe asked the tall Welshman with a half-empty glass in his hand, his glittery party hat glimmering in the living room’s lights. He leaned against the wall as they talked, his eyes already a bit glassy from the alcohol.

“I don’t usually make those, ‘cause so far, I’ve always failed to stick to them.” - Gwilym chuckled as he rose a brow and took another sip of his whiskey. - “What about you, Maz? You look determined enough to make a whole list.”

“I’m gonna go find me somebody to love!” - Joe looked up at his friend, his brows furrowed, pouting slightly like he had always done when he was focussed. - “Oh, and drink less.” - His addition made his co-star grin.

“Well, you’ve already failed the latter.” - Gwil teased before he continued - “Wait, are you quoting Queen again?”

“It’s still 2018, duh.” - The ginger rolled his eyes before his lips curled into a smirk - “And gimme’ another tequila soda and I’ll even sing it to ya’.”

“I think you’ve already had enough of those.” - Gwilym’s concern was genuine, however it only evoked a snicker from Joe.

“Come on, Gwilly, don’t be such a party pooper.” - He took another swig of his drink before he turned away from Gwil, making his way towards the centre of the room where a few people were dancing.

“G-Gwilly? I’m gonna kick your little New Yorker ar–” - The taller man really wanted to be offended, but he couldn’t finish his rant before Joe turned away from him. - “Hey, where are you going now?” - Gwilym called after the ginger, but stayed where he was as he watched his friend move forward.

“It’s time to daaaaaanceee!” - Joe yelled cheerfully, drawing out the last word, momentarily turning back towards the Welshman. He threw his hands up in the air with a shimmy and joined the group of buddies who were dancing to an ABBA song at the moment.

“Oh God, what have I got myself into?” - Gwil muttered to himself, sighing and rubbing his forehead slightly as he observed the enthusiastic dancers in front of him, reluctantly following after a few minutes.

*****

Joe was downing shot after shot all throughout the night, so he was completely drunk before midnight, but by some miracle, he still hadn’t managed to throw up or pass out. Around 11:45, those members of the squad who hadn’t yet blanked out made their way up to the rooftop of the building to watch the fireworks. Gwilym also came along and he stood to the side a bit with Joe, who got incredibly chatty in the last few minutes of the year for some reason, babbling utter nonsense to his cast mate. Lucy started playing a countdown on her phone, her, Rami and a few girls calling out the remaining time along with the speaker in unison. As they approached 12pm, Joe suddenly fell silent and he only gave a few awkward glances to the tall man standing next to him.

“I love you, Gwil.” - He uttered finally, speaking so softly that his words almost got lost in the noise of the midnight countdown.

“I love you too, Joe.” - Gwilym chuckled, and patted the redhead’s shoulder gently - “Like you said, ride or die.”

_“Three minutes left!” - The countdown group called out in the background._

“No, you don’t understand, I…” - Joe’s voice sounded a little more fragile than usual, and you could hear the uncertainty in his tone.” - “I love you.” - When Gwil turned his attention to his co-star, he was met with the ginger’s puppy brown eyes, the glint in them suggesting that he was serious, in spite of the copious amount of alcohol he had ingested during the night.

“Joe, I… you don’t…” - To his shock, Gwilym found himself stumbling over his words as he couldn’t find the right thing to say. Luckily for him, Joe interrupted him.

“I mean… we’ve always had something special, right? We clicked instantly, and had the time of our lives filming BoRhap, and going on vacation together.” - His speech was slurred from both the intoxication and the speed at which the sentences came out of his mouth. Joe was looking down on the floor, not daring to meet the Welshman’s gaze, swinging his hands around passionately as he talked, almost losing his balance in the process.

“You were there for me when my dad… - Joe’s voice suddenly cracked as, for a brief second, he thought back on the hardest time of his life so far, a few teardrops welling up, before continuing - “When I was at my lowest, and y-you… You made me feel happy again… made me feel at home…  
“Joe…” - Gwilym whispered as he gently placed his hands on Joe’s elbows, trying to meet his gaze, but the redhead’s eyes were still fixed on the ground.

“And I wanted to tell you for ages, but I could never get around to it, ‘cause I was so scared that you’d... not feel the same way, and then you’d hate me for it. I was afraid it would kill our friendship, which I absolutely, whole-heartedly treasure, to my dying day, but I just… I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore… and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” - Joe let out a defeated sigh as he buried his face into his palms.

“Joe!” - Gwil gently shook the ginger’s arms to get his attention, but it all seemed to be in vain. Instead, Joe abruptly fell into Gwilym’s arms, pressing his head against his chest and the Welshman automatically pulled him into a tight embrace.

_“One minute left!” - Lucy and others gradually raised their voices the closer they got to the end of the year._

“Please forgive me, Gwil, I’m–“ - Only then did Gwil realise that Joe was sobbing, his whole body shaking against the taller one’s.

“It’s okay.” - He cooed, hugging the redhead close and rocking him gently until he calmed down.

_“TEN! NINE! EIGHT!” - More people joined in on the final countdown in excitement._

“You silly little boy.” - Gwilym smiled fondly at Joe when they pulled away, lifting the shorter man’s chin, so their eyes could meet. Joe was looking at him with a mixture of sadness and expectation on his face, his cheeks glistening from the tears - “I love you, too.” - The Welshman leaned in to kiss his cast mate just as the clock struck twelve, the first colourful little rockets exploding on the starlit night sky right in front of them.

“Y’know… you could’ve said that about… five minutes ago, and I could’ve spared me a near heart attack.” - Joe chuckled as their lips came apart, shaking his head lightly as he wiped some of his tears away.

“I did try to interrupt you three times, but you weren’t listening to me at all!” - Gwil crossed his arms as he jokingly scolded Joe, his tone still gentle.

“Oh gosh, I’m such a mess!” - Joe laughed as he collected himself, shaking his head a bit - “Still, I’m relieved and slightly less anxious that before.”

“Only slightly?” - The Welshman rose a brow, a faint smirk on his face.

“Yeah, this being a whole new situation and all.” - Joe shrugged, smiling as he studied Gwilym’s expressions.

“Fair enough.” - Gwil nodded, looking around as he heard the booming of the fireworks getting more intense by the minute. - “Guess it’s already time, then.” - He turned his attention back to the ginger, before pulling him in for a tight hug - “Happy new year, Joe.”

“Happy new year, Gwil.” - Joe blushed, grinning to himself as he wrapped his arms around the taller man, taking in his scent. He tilted his head on Gwilym’s shoulder as they watched the parade of colours dance across the dark blue backdrop of the New York City skyline.

For a few minutes, the boys forgot about the world around them: their friends cheering on the fireworks loudly as they clinked their glasses of champagne together or the sounds filtering in from the other parties in the neighbourhood. They were only roused from their reverie when their co-stars, Lucy and Rami passed them by on their way back to the building.

“YOU OWE ME TWENTY!” - Lucy shouted to Rami to be heard through the rumble of the explosions, glancing back at the new couple before she took her lover’s hand, leading him back inside. Rami raised his thumb at the boys with a wide grin, much to Gwilym and Joe’s surprise, jogging after the blonde.

“Guess we got the royal couple’s approval now.” - Joe beamed at his tall boyfriend and they both erupted into laughter.

*****

“This was a really bad idea.” - Joe whimpered, putting his head into Gwilym’s lap and trying to pay no mind to his stomach that was rather upset after a whole night of heavy drinking.

“It’s okay, love. We’ll be home in a minute.” - The Welshman purred softly as he caressed Joe’s cheek while giving the address to Joe’s flat to the cab driver, as the smaller man was not in the condition to do so.

Joe closed his eyes as soon as the car pulled out of the parking space, hoping it would ease his nausea, but his method ended up being ineffective. The redhead groaned and took a deep breath, pressing his face into Gwil’s muscular thigh. The feeling of his beloved’s fingers against his skin and hair did soothe Joe’s discomfort a bit. Gwilym talked him through their short journey, then helped him out of the taxi when they arrived, leaving a generous tip to the driver. He put an arm around Joe to support him as they slowly walked up to the entrance of the ginger’s flat, patting down Joe’s trousers for the keys while he leaned against the wall.

“This relationship is moving a bit too fast.” - The redhead joked, but Gwilym wasn’t having it.

“If you keep on being a smartass, I’ll have you sleep on the couch.” - He warned as he unlocked the front door.

“But it’s my apartment, Gwil.” - Joe furrowed his brows, his lips flattening into a straight line.

“Yeah? See if I care.” - Gwilym raised his brows as he pushed the door open, leading his drunk partner into the bedroom.

Once they got inside, Gwil undressed Joe and gave him a much needed shower. This inspired the ginger to make more jokes about the ambiguity of the situation, which elicited a number of annoyed sighs from the taller man. When he was ready, Gwilym tucked Joe in, carefully wrapping him in a soft blanket, and laid down next to him.

“Are you gonna’ be here in the morning? Please tell me you’re not leaving…” - Joe pleaded, his voice sounding high and frail, just like when he confessed his feelings for Gwilym.

“‘Course I’m not leaving, love.” - The Welshman pulled his partner close to him, running his fingers through Joe’s auburn locks - “Why would I do that?”

“Dunno’.” - Joe shrugged as he leaned into Gwil’s touch, his eyes closed, ready to fall asleep at any second - “Guess I just don’t wanna’ lose as many good things as I did last year.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting rid of me so easily.” - Gwilym chuckled, tilting his head on the pillow next to Joe.

“Okay, but you better keep your word on that.” - The redhead smiled against the covers, relishing in the warm feeling the Welshman’s closeness and the cosy blanket gave him.

“Don’t worry, I will.” - Gwilym admired his boyfriend as they both fell silent for a moment. - “Good night, Joey.”

“Good night, Gwilly.” - Joe mumbled drowsily, slowly falling into peaceful sleep in his newfound sweetheart’s arms.

In that moment, Joe had already labelled 2019 as his favourite year, and it had only just begun.

**Author's Note:**

> Part 7 of a series of fics which are inspired by/share the title of Queen songs.


End file.
